Objection Filed Against Referendum Petitions

Oak Lawn Village Trustee Bob Streit announced at Tuesday’s village board meeting that an objection was filed to the petitions filed with the Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court on Jan. 3.

The referendum would ask voters if the village should abandon its current form of government and restore executive and legislative powers to an elected mayor, rather than an appointed village manager.

Some village board members as well as the village clerk claim that 800 to 1,000 signatures appeared to have been forged on the petitions circulated by Oak Lawn Tax Watch, a community group that purports to be a watchdog for citizens’ tax dollars.

Since the petitions were filed, 140 residents have signed affidavits stating that their signatures were.

“We owe it to the residents of Oak Lawn to fully investigate this matter and find who is responsible,” Streit said. “We also vow to fully prosecute those who are responsible. This is an extremely serious matter because this is an attempt to change our form of government through forgery, perjury and election fraud.”

The objection was filed by Streit, Trustee Tom Duhig (Dist. 2) and Village Planning and Development Commissioner Wayne Gray as “citizens and registered voters of Oak Lawn,” and not in any official government capacity.

Objections range from forged signatures of residents and signatures, as well as names of deceased persons appearing on the petition sheets. It asks that the court deem the referendum petitions invalid.

The village board members involved with the informal investigation sent out letters to residents late last week asking them to come to Stony Creek Golf Club on Sunday and Monday evening to examine their signatures and sign affidavits.

“I’ve received phone calls since Saturday, probably more that I ever had, regarding the petitions,” Duhig said during his trustee’s report. “Most of the calls I received were from seniors saying their names had been forged.”

Trustee Tom Phelan (Dist. 6) said he took particular offense to Village Clerk Jane Quinlan being criticized for her name appearing on the letters that went out to residents. Quinlan alerted the village board after she found her son’s and daughter-in-law’s names on the petitions.

“I really take offense when Jane Quinlan gets attacked. It’s absolutely disgusting,” Phelan said. “This woman should get a Nobel Prize if they have such a thing in the municipal clerk’s conference. One thousand forgeries and she’s attacked for bringing that to our attention.”

“You don’t know that, Tom,” Trustee Carol Quinlan (Dist. 5) interjected. Quinlan, who related to the village clerk by marriage, helped circulate the referendum petitions, along with her husband.

Village Clerk Quinlan read a statement “for the record” after stating that she had received a threatening e-mail from Oak Lawn Tax Watch Chair Myrna Jurcev earlier in the day.

“As the village clerk and also as a resident of the Village of Oak Lawn, when I see fraud I will point it out,” Quinlan said. “No matter what the petitions were for, be it a referendum or a slate of candidates, it is my duty as the elected village clerk to report fraud.”

After the meeting, Streit toned down his remarks to prosecute those involved in the petition drive, saying it was up to a judge to decide whether to order an investigation by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

“One of the reasons I had stern words, I wanted to let the people of Oak Lawn know that’s not an acceptable standard for us when someone forges their signatures,” Streit said. “We owe them some level of support in saying you have been violated and we understand, and that we’re going to stand up against it.”

To Streit’s knowledge, village residents who’ve signed affidavits claiming their signatures were forged have not filed any complaints with the Oak Lawn Police Department.

Streit was also asked if he had any forensic training in handwriting analysis that would enable him to detect 800 to 1,000 fraudulent signatures.

“Actually I don’t, but you certainly don’t need any to see that these petitions are signed by the same person, line after line,” he said. “The more you look at the petitions, the more you see.”

A hearing before Cook County Judge Susan Fox Gillis is scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 18, in room 1708 at the Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., in Chicago.

Correction: Wayne Gray is a commissioner for Village of Oak Lawn's Planning and Development Commission, not the Village Board of Appeals as was originally reported. Patch regrets the error.

Correction: Trustee Carol Quinlan (5th District) informed Patch that she is related to Village Clerk Jane Quinlan through marraige. Patch regrets the error.